Exodus 12
2 Outlines
Exodus 12:1-13
etc.
DOORS
Doors - I've been
through thousands of them in my lifetime.
I remember the big, heavy wooden church doors of my childhood.
And the screen
doors of a favorite cabin in the woods.
I recall revolving doors in stores and hospitals, and doors to closets
and cupboards.
Of course we use
the term "door" figuratively as well as literally.
In its own
inimitable way, the Bible has something to teach us about doors. With that in mind, we want to look at four of
the many doors that are mentioned in the Bible.
THE DOOR OF
OFFERING - Exodus 12:1-13
The place is
The situation is
that the nation of
God had hardened
Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh had also hardened his own
heart and steadfastly refused to let
God told
These lambs were
to be perfect, with no blemish.
They were even to
be tested.
At the appointed
evening, the lambs were to be slain, roasted and eaten.
The blood of the
lambs was to be applied with a plant called hyssop to the top and sides of the
door.
When the death
angel saw the blood, he would "pass over" that house.
Hence we have the
name for the feast that God told the Jews to celebrate yearly, Passover.
Passover is a
picture of the work the Lord Jesus Christ did in order to give us eternal life.
The Angel of Death
that came over
Our God is a
righteous God, and our God hates and judges sin. Isaiah 59:2, Isaiah 64:6,
Ezekiel 18:4
John the Baptist
introduced the Lord Jesus in this way,
…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)
Jesus was the perfect, sinless, Son of God who was offered upon the cross
of
1 Corinthians 5:7
- …For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
When an Israelite
killed his lamb, the job was not done.
He had to apply the blood to the door of his house. When the Angel saw the blood, He knew that an
offering had already been made for that household and he passed over.
My friend, knowing that Jesus has died as a
perfect sacrifice for your sins is not enough.
There must be a Door of Offering in your life. The blood of Jesus must
be applied to the door of your heart.
You must believe that Jesus died for you, was buried and rose again. You must believe that is the blood of Jesus
Christ that gives you forgiveness of sin and eternal life. When you do, there will be no judgment of
eternal death of you. Instead there will
be eternal life! Romans 10:13
THE DOOR OF
OBEDIENCE - John 10:9
John 10:9 - I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
According to James
Montgomery Boice, when sheep were grazing in the countryside of
They would take stones
and build a place to keep their sheep during the night, to help protect them
from predators.
A narrow opening
was made in this sheepfold so the sheep could get in and out, but there was no
door. That is, there was no door until
the shepherd himself laid down in the doorway and became the door. No predator could get in without getting past
the shepherd and no sheep could get out without getting past the shepherd. The
sheep were secure. James Montgomery
Boice, The Gospel of John, An Expositional Commentary,
Volume 3, © 1988, 1999 by James Montgomery Boice, Baker Books, Grand Rapids,
page 742
Jesus says that He
is the door. That implies that he
is the only door. In fact He actually
says that in John 14:6.
There is a door of
obedience whereby we are saved from sin and given eternal life. The door of Obedience is to place your faith
and trust in Christ as your door to Heaven.
You enter in by faith. Acts
Actually, the Door
of Offering and the Door of Obedience are conveying the same idea. You come to Christ and trust Him by faith
that He has died for your sins.
THE DOOR OF
For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and
there are many adversaries.
Paul had an open
door for ministry!
Sometimes we think
that the only ones who ever had open doors for ministry are great nationally
known preachers and the Apostles. We are
not surprised if Paul had an open door for ministry,
after all, He was the great Paul the Apostle!
God opens doors of
opportunity for us as well. Galatians 6:9-10
God wants us to
look for opportunities to do good to others, especially to fellow
believers. This makes sense when we
consider the purpose for which God saved us.
That purpose is to do good works. Ephesians 2:10
God not only
provides open doors of opportunity for good works. He provides also provides opportunities to
speak for Him.
1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in
your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear:
As we sanctify or
prepare our hearts to love and serve God, He will give us opportunities to
share our faith. We must be ready to
open our mouths when people give us an opening.
Warning! With
opportunities come opposition.
There will be
times because you are doing good and being effective for the Lord that you will
run into opposition!
We should take to heart
the advice the Lord gave Paul while he was in
THE DOOR OF
ONENESS - Revelation 3:20
Revelation 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me.
You might have
seen that classic picture of the Lord Jesus knocking on a door. There is no handle on the outside of the
door, meaning that the one on the inside had to let him in.
I have used this
verse as an illustration that each one of us must open the door of our hearts
by faith to receive Christ as Savior. It is our decision.
But I believe that
this verse is an invitation primarily for believers.
The Lord Jesus is
inside our hearts because we have trusted Him as Savior. But there are rooms that remain shut to Him. He
knocks and says, "Won't you let me in?
Won't you spend time with me? Won't you get to know me better?"
And the more we
spend time with the Lord Jesus, in mediation, in prayer, and in learning His
word, the more we will become like Him.
The more we abide in Him, the more we will be like Him!
That's oneness
with Christ! 1 John 2:6
Jesus is knocking
on the door.
Let's open it and
spend time with Him.
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Exodus 12:3-7, 13
THE LAMB
The People of
The Passover Lamb is a picture of our
Lord Jesus Christ who is the "Lamb of God" and "our
Passover". John
Consider:
A
A lamb needed to be chosen by each
family.
Jesus was chosen by God to be the
Passover Lamb for the world. Philippians 2:5-8
A CLEAN LAMB - Vs. 5
The lamb needed to be perfect.
Jesus was perfect. He was sinless. 1
Peter 1:18-19
A CONSECRATED LAMB - Vs. 6
The Lamb was kept. He was set apart for
the task of being the Passover Lamb.
Jesus was set apart to go to the cross
to die for sin. Mark
A CRUSHED LAMB - Vs. 6
The Lamb was killed.
Isaiah 53:5
A COVERING LAMB - Vs. 7, 13
The blood was applied to the doorposts.
When the blood of Christ is applied to
our lives we have forgiveness and our sins are covered. Romans 5:9